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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27850518">12 Gifts Of Christmas</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astroboy101/pseuds/Astroboy101'>Astroboy101</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Motherland: Fort Salem (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Christmas Fluff, Cuteness overload, F/F</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 22:14:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,785</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27850518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Astroboy101/pseuds/Astroboy101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Raelle Collar hates Christmas and her next door neighbour Scylla Ramshorn loves Christmas. One night Scylla is playing her Christmas music too loud and Raelle confronts her. </p><p>Then special things happen.</p><p>This is just a cute fluffy christmas one shot that I felt the need to write because its that time of year.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Raelle Collar/Scylla Ramshorn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>88</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>12 Gifts Of Christmas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Raelle Collar hates Christmas which stems from losing her parents several years ago on Christmas eve in a road accident. It has left a bitter taste in her mouth, especially around the festive season and all her fond memories of waking up Christmas morning with her parents to open presents under the tree and drinking her dad’s homemade eggnog have all been blackened by that fateful night. </p><p>Raelle normally starts her transformation into the Grinch, (which her roommate Abigail refers to her as), when the ghouls and harvest pumpkins shuffle off the shelves for Halloween and the retailers start decking their halls with Mariah Carey and Bing Crosby from any speaker that's connected to a power source. Raelle has never really understood the appeal of what most people refer to as "the happiest time of year", especially when there is the pressured expectation of gift giving, the stress of family fights over who gets the last roast potato, the neighborhood competition on who has the best Christmas lights or having to listen to the same Christmas carols over and over again for the 500th time</p><p>The stickly blonde currently lives with her two best friends Tally and Abigail who every year jump on a plane and fly home to be with their families. Raelle always gets an invitation to join them but prefers to work through the holidays and wallow at home alone in the only house in her street that is NOT decorated with Christmas lights, blow up Santa's or fake snow</p><p>Raelle works at gifts 4 U which is a small gift shop in town and she enjoys it, despite the exaggerated amount of Christmas decorations that hung from absolutely everything and having to wear the stupid Christmas hat which is a standard uniform requirement. Her favorite part of the job is when she gets to help little old ladies with the difficult task of picking out the perfect gift for their grandchild or the indecisive customers in choosing between the blue photo frame or the red one, however; when it comes to the manic and over excited Christmas shoppers, she wants to gauge her eyes out</p><p>***</p><p>It was the 12th December and Raelle was serving her last customer for the night who just happened to be the customer from hell. Tally and Abigail had already left for Christmas so she was looking forward to having the house to herself. She was exhausted and her patience was running thin. She finally rang the order through the till, put on her fake smile, wished them a merry Christmas and shuffled them out the door</p><p>She arrived home, had a quick bite to eat, a shower, got into her PJs and slid into bed. Her body sunk into the pillows, releasing a long drawn out sigh as she closed her eyes, ready to let sleep take her when Mariah Careys - All I want for Christmas was thrumming in her pillow</p><p>Raelles eyes snapped open and she shot up. "You have got to be kidding me." Raelle growled, threw the doona cover off in a huff and got out of bed. She peered through the blinds to see where the music was coming from and as expected, it was blaring from her neighbor’s house. The music was so inappropriately loud that the windows in her house were vibrating</p><p>Her new neighbor moved in about a week ago but Raelle hadn’t had the pleasure of crossing paths with them yet, well until tonight. She cursed and groaned her way out of her PJ’s and into some warmer clothes, then cursed some more at having to go out into the cold night air just to tell some rude asshole to turn their music down</p><p>Raelle marched up her neighbors garden path which was lit up like an airport, scoffing the whole time at the ridiculous amount of Christmas garden gnomes that were staring up at her from their front garden and the over exaggerated gigantic wreath that hung on their front door</p><p>Raelle knocked hard on the door and waited. She groaned and knocked again, this time harder and louder and waited. She tried the doorbell and was relieved when she heard the music being turned down and the door finally opened</p><p>Ready for an onslaught, Raelle was thrown completely off guard when the person appearing in front of her was not at all what she expected. She was expecting some grumpy dude, or an arrogant teenager to exchange some very unpleasant words with but instead she got a gorgeous brunette who had eyes like a blueberry sky and a smile that could end wars</p><p>"Hi, Merry Christmas. Can I help you?" the brunette said</p><p>The brunettes voice sounded like it was from the heavens and all of Raelles pent up anger and frustration just seemed to melt away as she blushed a crimson red "Um, hi I'm Raelle Collar from next door. I was just wondering if you could turn the music down a bit?"</p><p>The brunette smirked at the effect she had on the other girl "Oh I'm so sorry. I just love Christmas so much that I get carried away sometimes. I am Scylla. Nice to meet you Raelle"</p><p>Raelle was prepared to let the profanities roll off her tongue and then storm away in a huff, maybe kick a plant here and there, but she hadn’t prepared herself for the kindest of blue eyes looking back at her. She froze and was rendered useless.</p><p>"Don’t you just love Christmas Raelle? Scylla said enthusiastically </p><p>Raelle raised her eyebrows "Um, not really. I've just never really been into the whole festive season thing"</p><p>Scylla quirked a brow "Well that is a shame" as she stood there holding the door, eyes locked on the blonde</p><p>Raelle was in love. Something was blossoming in her chest but right in that moment she felt like a car that had just stalled</p><p>Scylla giggled "Well Raelle Collar, it was lovely to meet you and I'm sorry about the music. I will tone it down"</p><p>Raelle managed a smile, still blushing "thank you. um, goodnight Scylla"</p><p>Raelle walked away as the door quietly clicked closed behind her, thinking about those blue eyes and how they had just burned an imprint into her soul. She was definitely not going to sleep tonight</p><p>***</p><p>The next day Raelle worked her normal shift at the gift shop like she did every other day only this time she had a bounce in her step and a certain brunette occupying her mind. She couldn't stop thinking about Scylla's amazing eyes and her sweetest smile</p><p>She signed off, placed her Christmas hat in her locker and headed home to find a small box wrapped up in Christmas paper with a red bow and a small card sitting on her front porch. Raelle brought the gift inside, unaware of who it was from or what it could be. She made herself some dinner, had a shower and got into her PJ’s and then looked at the gift </p><p>The accompanying card had no indication of a sender, it was just marked <strong>“For Raelle”</strong> and a message that was written in calligraphic hand writing on a glossy card</p><p><em>12 Gifts of Christmas. Even sceptics can become true believers</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 1</strong> - Raelle opened the green box to find a DVD called Miracle on 34th Street. She screwed up her face and scoffed thinking it was some kind of cruel joke, so she threw it on an old pile of magazines and went to bed</p><p>***</p><p>The next day was much the same, Raelle worked her shift at the gift shop, putting up with the  impatient and annoying Christmas shoppers that did her head in with their unreasonable requests and impatience. She arrived home to find another small box wrapped exactly the same as the first one with another note</p><p><em>A Christmas delicacy that everybody should try at least once</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 2</strong> - Raelle opened the yellow box and was hit with the fragrance of spice and ginger from some freshly baked gingerbread men. They were covered in red and white icing with snowmen piped across the front and gold buttons. It took her back to the time she made a gingerbread house with her mum on one Christmas morning. She loved the smell of ginger but she was confused as to who would leave such a gift on her door step. She thought about all the people she knew who could have been so thoughtful but nobody sprung to mind. Everyone who knew Raelle Collar was aware of how much she hated Christmas</p><p>Unless……. Scylla</p><p>Raelle clicked her front door closed and headed over to Scylla's house</p><p>The blonde was knocked off her feet again when lagoon blues eyes and a brooding smile made an appearance at the door</p><p>“Hi Raelle, Is everything ok? I didn’t have my music blearing this time?” </p><p>Raelle blushed AGAIN “Hi Scylla, it’s not about the music this time. I was just wondering if you knew anything about the small gifts that were being left on my front door?”</p><p>Scylla's face had smugness written all over it “No, sorry I don’t. Maybe you have a secret admirer Raelle?” </p><p>Raelle grinned, not the least bit convinced it wasn’t Scylla dropping gifts at her door but she played along. At this point all she wanted to do was kiss the smugness right off her face but decided to let it be</p><p>“ok, thanks anyway Scylla. Have a good night”</p><p>Scylla stood at the door, watching Raelle walk back down the garden path, giggling to herself and thinking how adorable the blonde was</p><p>When Raelle got back home she wasn’t overly hungry so skipped dinner and instead tried one of the gingerbread men. She was so surprised by how good it tasted that she ended up eating all of them and then spent the rest of the night nursing a stomach ache. </p><p>***</p><p>The next day was swarming with the shoppers from hell and Raelle was in a ripe old mood. She didn’t sleep well and was tired and cranky and all she wanted was to get home to peace and quiet. Scylla was still actively on her mind and if she wasn’t such a chicken shit she would ask her out. Raelle hasn’t dated much apart from Tiffany from the book shop a few doors down but that didn’t end well after Tiffany got too clingy. She literally wanted to spend every waking moment with Raelle and the blonde felt suffocated and had to end it. After they broke up she still kept sending texts until Raelle eventually had to change her number</p><p>When Raelle got home her mood drastically changed when she saw another gift waiting for her. She started to see a pattern forming so she re-read the original card and couldn’t help but wonder if the 12 days of gift giving actually meant that she would be receiving a gift each day over the next 10 days. She was excited but not knowing who was leaving the gifts was frustrating </p><p><em>Even those that don't like Christmas get cold feet</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 3</strong> - Raelle opened the orange box to find a pair of cotton Christmas socks with reindeers on them. She giggled at how ugly the socks looked and she thought if it was Scylla doing this than it was absolutely adorable. There was something about Scylla that Raelle found exhilarating and deep down she really really wanted her to be her secret admirer</p><p>***</p><p>The next few days felt like groundhog day. The same routine of working and biting her tongue at rude shoppers and then heading home to find a gift on her front porch </p><p><em>He will help keep the grinches away</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 4</strong> – Raelle opened the blue box and it was a Christmas garden gnome of a smiling elf. Raelles heart fluttered and went straight out to her porch and found the perfect spot for her new friend looking out onto the garden</p><p> </p><p><em>This evergreen represents everlasting life</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 5</strong> – Raelle opened a purple box and it was a handmade small Christmas wreath that was made with thistle and eucalyptus and had small red pine cones that had been sprayed red. The aroma coming off the wreath was amazing so Raelle immediately hung it on her front door</p><p><em>Not to be worn in public. Only in the privacy of your own home</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 6</strong> – Raelle opened the red box and it was an oversized red and blue ugly woolen Christmas jumper with a large snowman on the front. This one was Raelles favorite so far and became a useful accessory to wear over her PJ’s on the chilly nights</p><p>***</p><p>It was the 21st December and Raelle was on her coffee break thinking about Scylla. She really wanted to get the brunette a gift for Christmas in case she turned out to be her secret Santa but had absolutely no idea what to get. She didn’t really know much about the other girl, other than she liked Christmas. After her shift Raelle went strolling around the different stores and ignoring all the annoying “Can I help you’s?” she got from the over happy staff at every place she walked into. She eventually came up with an idea that she thought Scylla would absolutely love, so she bought all the stuff and headed home to find another gift waiting for her </p><p><em>Don’t eat all these at once</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 7</strong> - Raelle opened the brown box and it was a Christmas stocking with a nordic design that had Raelles name embroided into it and filled with candy canes. Raelle hung the stocking up on her fireplace and tried one of the candy canes, this time only eating one. She spent the rest of the night working on Scyllas gift and then drifted off to sleep</p><p>***</p><p>The next two days got harder for Raelle as it was getting closer to the anniversary of her parents death. She struggled through work and was a bit more abrupt with shoppers than she would like to admit. She walked around like a zombie and was really unmotivated to do anything. She kept watching the clock and when it finally ticked over to finishing time she was out of there in a flash to be greeted by more gifts on her front door step</p><p><em>Not a real one but the next best thing</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 8</strong> - Raelle opened the black box and it was a mini Christmas tree with green spindles and was decorated in silver and blue tinsel with matching ornaments. Raelle placed it on her windowsill and when the sunrise kissed the window, it threw brilliant streaks of colors across the room</p><p><em>This is for your real tree when you finally decide to get one</em> 🎄</p><p><strong>Gift 9</strong> - Raelle opened the pink box and it was a personalised glass Christmas bauble that was painted gold with red stars and silver snowflakes. Raelle immediately hung it on her mini Christmas tree and even though she was feeling really sad, the gifts were actually making her smile</p><p>***</p><p>Christmas eve arrived and it was Raelles last shift before she had a week off for the holidays. She was feeling really down and lonely and wished she had someone special to share everything with. Working in the gift shop had taken its toll, especially when Raelle saw kids with their parents or happy couples shopping together. It was always the hardest part of her job, especially this time of year</p><p>Raelle grabbed the gift off her front porch when she got home but this time she didn’t open it straight away. She was feeling overwhelmed with everything. She was really missing her parents and her friends and all these gifts from a secret someone was a little much. All she wanted to do was lay in bed and cry, so she had a shower and decided to watch Miracle on 34th street to try and cheer herself up but unfortunately it had the opposite effect. Raelle balled and sobbed all the way through it and her body eventually succumbed to sleep. She woke up on the couch a little while later and decided to open the gift before taking herself to bed.  </p><p><em>Merry Christmas Raelle. Now that you are coming close to the end of the 12 gifts of Christmas, I hope you see the true value behind Christmas which is LOVE</em> 💕</p><p><strong>Gift 10</strong> – Raelle opened the grey box and it was a handmade Christmas card that had a snowman embroided on the front and was bordered in an embossed red and gold. The message in the card hit Raelle hard. She realised she had been spending so much time being sad and spreading sadness at Christmas instead of being happy and appreciating the things and the people in her life. She went to bed with red rimmed eyes and fell sleep thinking about her parents and Scylla </p><p>***</p><p>The next morning was Christmas Day and Raelle didn’t want to get out of bed. She had no reason too. She was alone and her friends would be waking up with their families and exchanging gifts and pleasantries and Raelle had nobody to do that with. She fell asleep again for a couple more hours and then decided to drag herself out of bed and shower</p><p>She put on her ugly Christmas jumper as the morning was quite frosty and she was just about to start cooking breakfast when the doorbell rang. Raelle opened the door to find Scylla standing in front of her with a Christmas hat, an ugly Christmas jumper that had a penguin on it and she was holding a ceramic jug in her hand. Raelles first thought was she looked absolutely adorable</p><p>"Scylla, what are you doing here?"</p><p>Scylla quirked her brow and smirked “Nice jumper Raelle"</p><p>Raelle looked down at her jumper and blushed, lost for words</p><p>"Well, firstly Merry Christmas Raelle, secondly, if you invite me inside I can explain why I am here"</p><p>Raelle stepped aside and took the door with her ushering Scylla inside. Scylla noticed before walking inside the garden gnome sitting on the front porch and a lovely handmade wreath hanging on the front door. They moved into the kitchen and Scylla asked for two glasses. While Raelle organised the glasses, Scylla looked around Raelles house and noticed a small Christmas tree sitting on the window sill, a Christmas stocking hung up by the fireplace, a Christmas card stuck to the fridge, a DVD that looked like it had been watched and Christmas socks that were on Raelles feet.</p><p>Scylla giggled which Raelle noticed</p><p>"What is so funny?" the blonde asked</p><p>Scylla's giggle changed to a smirk "Oh nothing, it’s just for someone who hates Christmas you sure have a lot of Christmassy stuff"</p><p>Raelle didn’t know how to answer that so she placed the glasses on the kitchen bench instead</p><p>Scylla was eyeing Raelle "So, I understand you still have two gifts left from the 12 gifts of Christmas?" </p><p>Raelles eyes widened "I knew it. I knew it was you. Why did you do this for me. You don't even know me?"</p><p>Scylla poured the liquid from the ceramic jug into the glasses "Well, once upon a time I was you and it wasn't until a friend of mine did something similar for me that I saw Christmas in a different way. So, I thought it might work for you"</p><p>Raelle was smitten with the brunette. She thought Scylla was too good to be true. A Christmas angel maybe? All she wanted to do was kiss her right then and there</p><p>Scylla held up her glass "So, gift 11 is my home-made eggnog which I thought we could enjoy together. It’s a family recipe that dates back to my great great grandmother and it was a tradition in our family to drink it Christmas morning"</p><p>Raelle took a sip and her eyes rolled in appreciation. "Wow this is really good Scylla"</p><p>Scylla giggled "Thank you”</p><p>Raelles smile faded “Do you mind me asking why you’re here with me on Christmas day instead of with your family?” </p><p>Scylla put her glass down, her smile faded “My parents died 2 years ago. I don’t really have an extended family so it’s why I moved here to try something new and start fresh”</p><p>Raelle frowned “I am sorry Scylla. It looks like we have that in common. I lost my parents too. It never get’s easier”</p><p>Scylla smiled again to break the sad air “Do you want your last and final gift?"</p><p>Raelle nodded with a mouthful of eggnog</p><p>"Close your eyes" Scylla asked</p><p>Raelle smiled and hesitantly closed her eyes. She could hear Scylla shuffling around in her bag for something and then she felt the softest lips touching hers. Raelle fell into the kiss, taking everything Scylla was offering her in that moment</p><p>Raelle opened her eyes slowly, dazed and looked at Scylla who was holding something above their head</p><p>"Look up" Scylla said</p><p>Raelle looked up and could see a mistletoe. She looked back at Scylla and smiled, pulling her back in for another kiss, this time much longer</p><p>Raelle eventually pulled away “I have a gift for you too Scylla”</p><p>Scylla's eyes grew wide and her face lit up like the moon </p><p>Raelle went and collected the gift from the other room and returned to Scylla holding it behind her back “Close your eyes”</p><p>Scylla closed her eyes and Raelle placed the gift in front of her on the kitchen bench</p><p>“You can open them now. Merry Christmas Scylla” </p><p>Scylla opened her eyes and her skin tingled followed by an overwhelming feeling of happiness</p><p>Raelle made her a homemade snow globe with an upside-down glass jar and inside was speckled with fake snow to give the perception that it was snowing on a Christmas tree. It was very detailed with little presents under the tree that were painted different colors and a few stick people that looked like they were standing there admiring the tree</p><p>Raelle blushed “I made it myself. The tree is the main one in the middle of town and I remember getting one of these for my first Christmas so I thought it might be ni”</p><p>Scylla cut her off with a kiss and Raelle eagerly kissed her back. Scylla ended up staying for Christmas with Raelle and they watched Miracle on 34th street twice. Scylla taught Raelle how to make gingerbread men and Raelle took every chance she got to push Scylla under the mistletoe and steel a kiss which Scylla happily obliged. Raelle had never felt happier and Christmas was now her favorite time of year</p>
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